Roll the Dice

Our adventure today was inspired by the Whittaker family and this video.  Their family rolled 2 dice to determine how far they would drive and then played Rock, Paper, Scissors to see which direction to point the car.  They had a random activity for each stop...eat, treat, feet, & meet (Eat someplace, get a treat, do something active, or meet someone)  We decided to put a Hackney spin on this idea.  Roll the dice and then determine the direction.  Once we drove the required amount then we pulled out the phone and our Geocaching app and found the nearest geocache.  We also grabbed geocaches along the way.

To start we designated each direction to a number.  Rachel rolled a 2 and then a 5 so a 25 mile drive was up.  We rolled the number for South, reset our trip meter at zero and headed out.  This landed us only 1/2 mile from several geocaches, so we got to work.  Rachel got to pull her favorite tool out of our geocaching bag....the telescoping magnet.

We took a short detour over to Martinsville to grab lunch.  Found 2 caches near the restaurant including this one in a small family cemetery.  In fact we would end up in several cemeteries throughout the day.  

After lunch it was determined we would head West.  Rachel rolled a 23, we pulled out our map, found our road and took off.  I found it funny that this adventure inspired by the Whittaker family took us through a little place called Whitaker.

Conveniently our mileage landed us right by Cataract Falls.  So in addition to a few caches we were treated to some beautiful scenery.

Our next direction was North and we rolled a 26.  Conveniently we were on track to make a neat little square that would land us back close to home.  Up through Cloverdale and Greencastle we went hitting caches along the way.  What is it with geocachers and cemeteries?  

We neared the end of this leg right at US 36 which would take us right back home.  Here's where the numbers didn't play to our favor.  Rachel rolled a 55!  As it was getting late in the day and not wanting to end up on the far east side of Indy we deviated from the plan and just decided to cache all along US 36 until we got back home.

All in all it was a fun day and we nabbed 15 geocaches.  Something we will probably do again.  So if you don't mind not knowing where you will end up and can make your own fun along the way, try rolling the dice. :)

Random Indianapolis

No big trips for fall break this year, but Dusty did take a few days off.  So all off us minus Aaron who had class made our way randomly through Indianapolis.  It was nice to have no agenda and just wander around.  We started off with a quick pit stop at the Galyan's bear to grab a geocache.  I had passed this sculpture a lot of times on my way across the Eagle Creek reservoir, but never drove up to it.

This geocache was easy and straightforward.  We signed off on the log and headed to Holliday Park in the city.  An area of the park known as the Ruins had recently been reopened to the public.  It had been fenced off for years.  They have turned it into a very nice area with gardens and fountains.  It will be quite the magnet for photographers.  Rachel played around for a while and I scoped out some shooting locations.

Next up, some Chipotle in Broad Ripple and a failed geocaching attempt on the Monon Trail.  After that we headed down Meridian Street through downtown and over to the Fountain Square area.  Another fun area for photos loaded with graffiti walls and murals.

We found the Tardis....but couldn't locate Dr. Who

We wandered around the alleys and through some of the shops.  Fountain Square is also home to this sign which always makes a fun photo.

Dusty and I found it highly ironic that after shooting this photo if you turn around and shoot the other direction you are greeting with this sign...

I guess it's all just in how you feel that day!

A few more geocaches and then back to Brownsburg for some ice cream and a movie.  Who knows where we'll end up tomorrow. 

Grad Time

13 years...4 schools...untold numbers of school lunches...countless notebooks....and about 24 inches later....we have a graduate.  Congratulations Aaron!

Wrapping up Spring

We are wrapping up our May with a flurry of activity.  In the span of 4 days we celebrated Rachel's 11th birthday, finished up this season of Upward Soccer and had a house full of family and friends in to celebrate Aaron's high school graduation.  Bring on the summer!

Ok...so I'll post something

And now for the random posting....Ta Da!  Really just some randomness to say I've posted since probably only 2 or 3 people read this.

Backing up a few weeks, our spring break was a little bit of a bust since apparently the groundhog lied through his teeth and winter temps were still in full play.  So we loaded up one day and drove over to Dayton to the National Museum of the USAF.  Not a bad little trip.  A free museum and just a short bump down to the north side of Cincinnati where we squeezed in a trip to IKEA and Jungle Jim's.

Random flower pic

I've been off my photo mojo lately so I when Rachel and I decided to cheer on Team Brumley at the high school Lacrosse match I decided to haul out the Canon.  I have to admit it was quite fun to capturing all the action.

And wrapping up, this past weekend the band played for the Transformed conference in Indy.  I'm still not sure why I'm leaning forward in this photo.  Had a great time! However after a weekend full of heavy meals and eating out I think I'm going to have to say goodbye to this rock star lifestyle.  (Because this group is obviously rock stars.)  

See you again in several months! 

Bringing in 2016

How did we bring in 2016...the same way we bring in every January 1st.  Fill the house up with people, food, and games,  Throw in an impromptu magic show.  Drop balloons, drink some punch, and let the confetti fly!  39 people jammed into the house to welcome 2016.

New England in the Fall

Great week of roadtripping all over New England.  Beautiful fall colors...just a great time to visit a part of the country that I had never been to.  Some highlights...Acadia National Park in Maine, whale watching off the coast of Cape Cod, and seeing history up close in Boston and Gettysburg.